


It's A Family Name

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Marnie and the Shark [11]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Family, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 10:30:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6851065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I just gave birth to nearly eight pounds of human being and you want to fight over names?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's A Family Name

"Hello." 

It was 9:30 on a Sunday morning and Bruno's cell phone rang. He'd been out late last night, somebody's birthday party. Kim Foster invited him and he gave in. He really wasn't going to go...on Monday Vinick was going to be on a Midwest junket. At least 10 days touring the heartland. 

"Bruno." 

It was Margaret, she sounded frantic, and Bruno was immediately awake. 

"Margaret? What's the matter?" 

"I'm on the way to the hospital. I'm in labor." 

"What! Its early and you..." 

"I don't care, I'm having this baby. I need you here." 

"Yeah, of course." Bruno jumped out of bed, tripping over a shoe and landing on the floor. "Ow shit!" 

"Are you OK?" 

"Don't worry about me. I have a plane on standby...don't have the baby until I get there." 

"It doesn't work like that." she said through clenched teeth. "He is not on your schedule. Just hurry." 

"I will. Um, 90 minutes top. I'll be there I promise." 

They said their goodbyes; Bruno clicked his cell phone closed and looked at the stiletto that landed him unceremoniously on his side. 

"Kim!" he shouted. 

"Goddammit Bruno." She sat up. "There better be a fire." 

"I have to go to DC now." 

He got up from the floor and went into the bathroom. Quick shower, quick packing of a bag, quickly dressed in jeans, tee shirt, and sneakers. Kim just sat up in bed, naked and magnificently beautiful. She looked at Bruno as if he were crazy. 

"What's happening?" she asked. 

"My daughter is probably being born as we speak. I have to go. You can stay and have breakfast or you can get dressed and go. I'll see you." 

He grabbed his cell phone, his wallet and keys, and left the apartment. Out on the curb, he hailed a cab and told him to rush to LaGuardia. 

***

"Breathe Margaret." 

She and her downstairs neighbor Sophie rushed into the emergency room. She was not in the mood to sign forms, she was having a baby. 

"Hey Margaret, I'm Nurse Hamilton. We're going to take you to the 6th floor now. Are you ready?" 

"What the hell does it matter? The contractions are 8 minutes apart." 

"OK, let's go." 

They took her to the maternity ward after they settled her in a wheelchair. 

"Is he coming?" Sophie asked as the nurses undressed her. 

"Of course he is. I just don't know if it'll be before or after the baby comes. What is this thing?" 

"This is a fetal monitor." The nurse said. "It checks the baby's heart rate and blood pressure. This machine checks yours. This is to monitor the strength of the contractions. Everything is fine right now...just relax Margaret." 

Margaret took a deep breath, silently praying that her baby's birth was quick and not some Murphy Brown like moment. 

"Does that Lamaze stuff really work?" Sophie asked after the nurse left them alone. 

"I don't know. When the contractions were about 20 minutes apart, I think they did. Now I can't be too sure." 

She gripped her rubber ball as another contraction came through. 

"Right now I bet you're glad you decided not to have kids." Margaret said. 

"Um, yeah. Sorry honey." 

"It's OK. In this very moment I'm with you Soph." she gritted through another contraction. 

***

Bruno sat on the phone smoking a cigarette and toying with his cell phone. He flipped it open and pressed 1. 

"Hello?" 

"Um..." 

"Hey Bruno, its Sophie. No cell phones at the hospital. Call (202) 555-9816." 

"Right bye." 

He hung up and dialed the hospital room. Margaret answered the phone. 

"How ya doing baby?" 

"OK, six centimeters dilating. The contractions are about, oh God, five minutes apart." 

Bruno gritted his teeth at the sound of Margaret in pain. 

"Marnie..." 

"How far away are you?" 

"I don't know. I'll be there soon. I promise." 

"Hurry." She groaned through another contraction. 

"I will." 

Bruno hung up and took a deep breath. He had to get there on time. He dialed another number. 

"Hello." 

"Mama, its Bruno." 

"I saw your guy on TV...he's wishy-washy." 

"Yeah, he is. You want to know why?" 

"Because he's not listening to you." 

"Exactly. If you can figure that out, why can't he?" 

"Just because you are in the U.S. Senate does not make you a genius. Where are you today?" 

"I'm actually on a plane to DC. Margaret is in labor." 

"Oh God. Are you far away?" 

"I should actually be there in 20 minutes or so. Wanna do something for me?" 

"Of course." 

"Go down to the church and light a few candles. Say a prayer for her soul." 

"I'll say some for you too. When is the last time you went to mass?" 

"Mama." He groaned. 

"Mmm hmm. God still loves you." 

"I certainly hope so. I will send pictures as soon as she's born. Call everyone." 

"I will. I love you Bruno." 

"Love you too. We're entering DC airspace; I have to go." 

***

"OK Margaret, it's going to be soon." 

The nurse put the sheet down and wrote something on her chart. 

"Eight centimeters dilated." 

Margaret nodded, groaning with a contraction. Sophie had gone down to the mess hall for a cup of coffee. She had a few minutes alone. Alone to think about how she was going to do this. In a couple of hours, her baby would be here. She had to set up the apartment as best she could. They would be moving into the new house in May. Oh lord, she was going to a mother, and the senior assistant to the White House Chief of Staff. 

"Marnie! Marnie!" 

She sat up some when she heard Bruno's voice booming down the hall. She wanted to call to him but found she was too weak. For about 90 minutes she's been racked by fast moving contractions. More if you counted that it actually started last night around 3:45. He burst into the door and they looked at each other. 

"You made it." she breathed. 

"I walked." 

Bruno slid into the chair, taking her hand in his. 

"Are you alone?" 

"Sophie went for coffee. I'm so glad..." she squeezed his hand through the pain. "You're here." 

"There was no place else I was going to be. She's early; is this normal?" 

The doctor assured Margaret that the baby was fine. Strong heartbeat and normal brainwaves. Everything was fine. 

"Hey, you made it." Sophie came into the room. 

"Yeah. Thanks for being here for her." 

"That's what friends are for. I'll just go now." 

"Sophie, you don't have to." Margaret said as Bruno helped her sit up. 

"They only allow one person in here." She kissed Margaret's forehead. "Don't worry; I'm a phone call away. Call me as soon as you can so I can come see him." 

"Her." Bruno corrected. 

Both of the women looked at him and rolled their eyes. Sophie squeezed Bruno's shoulder and left. 

"Just you and me kid." He said with a smile. 

Margaret smiled back. 

"I'm scared Bruno." She said, closing her eyes. 

"You should be. It is not going to be easy, but guess what?" 

"What?" 

"Our daughter is going to love you so much. She has the most generous, wonderful mother on the planet. And a really big extended family that is going to love her to pieces." 

"Him." Margaret replied. 

"You just insist on dashing all my dreams, don't you woman?" 

She laughed. 

"What about daddy, hmm? He is smug, conceited, and a bit of a jerkoff. But there is another side to him too. The smart, funny, and sweet side. The side that is going to love our baby with all his heart." 

Bruno kissed her hand. 

***

At 12:15 Margaret went into full labor. The Lamaze breathing hardly helped, and Bruno was less help. He did hold her hand, and wipe her brow, but he looked as if he would be sick at a moment's notice. 

"OK Margaret, push." 

She did, bearing down as she squeezed Bruno's hand. 

"The baby is crowning." 

"What?" Bruno asked. 

"The baby has entered the birth canal. It's coming. Give me another big push." 

Margaret pushed again, screaming as she felt the head of the baby push through. Another push and the doctor smiled as baby Gianelli entered the world. 

"Oh God." Margaret fell back against the pillows. 

"It's a boy Margaret." 

"Is he OK?" 

"Ten fingers and ten toes; looks to be about eight pounds. Would you like to cut the cord Mr. Gianelli?" 

"No, no, no. I don't want to make any mistakes." 

The doctor wrapped the baby in a blue blanket and laid him on Margaret's chest. 

"It's a boy, ha ha." She said. 

"He's absolutely beautiful. Here, don't move." 

Bruno pulled out his cell phone and took a few pictures. Margaret groaned...she looked a mess. 

"Shush, you're fine. I'm just going to send this to everyone we know." 

Margaret talked to the baby while he did just that. The doctor had to take him soon. They had to do all the tests and asked if he was to be circumcised. She hardly wanted to let him go but she did, and then she and Bruno sat holding hands and thinking about their roles as parents. 

"What's his name Marnie?" 

"Brian." 

"That's nice. Can we have his middle name be my father's?" 

"Well I wanted to name him after my father. If it were a girl we were going to name her after your mother." 

"Yeah, but..." 

"But what? Brian Martin Gianelli." 

"Brian Alphonse Gianelli." He said. 

"You are going to fight with me? I just gave birth to nearly eight pounds of human being and now you want to fight over names?" 

"I'm never going to have another child. I want to be able to honor the memory of my father." 

Margaret sighed. 

"Just let me get some rest, OK?" 

Bruno nodded. He needed a cup of coffee anyway and he wanted to call Connie to find out what the damn Vinick campaign was up to. 

"I'm going to get some coffee and have a cigarette. Will you be alright alone?" 

"Yeah, you go. Don't be gone too long though." 

Shaking his head, he bent to kiss her forehead. Margaret closed her eyes and welcomed sleep. 

***

"The flowers are beautiful, thank you. Did you see him?" 

CJ sat in the chair across from Margaret's bed and smiled. 

"The cutest little boy in the maternity ward." She replied. "Have you picked out a name?" 

"Brian, I knew as soon as I saw his face. He is beautiful." 

"Yeah, and he's big too. But that's good because they always lose one or two pounds in the first week." 

"I read that in _Parenting_. Can you tell me when I will stop feeling like a human accordion?" 

"A few days; the medicine they gave me was fantastic. Is the apartment ready?" 

"Yeah. The crib is set up and..." 

The door opened and Bruno walked in carrying a dozen pink roses. He stopped short when he saw CJ...it had been a long time. 

"Hey CJ." 

"Hi." She stood from the chair. 

"You look amazing." He said. 

"Thank you." She turned back to Margaret. "Don't worry about anything at the White House; we can pretend that we have it all under control. You concentrate on the baby, and expect to hear from Leo soon. Bye Bruno; congratulations." 

"Thank you." 

He watched her leave and then put the roses on the table. Margaret smiled. 

"I have been thinking." She said. 

"About what? Are you going to breastfeed?" 

"No. You know I thought about that for a long time but I think it will be too hard with me going back to work after 8 weeks. Hey, don't distract me." 

"Sorry. What were you thinking about?" 

"I like the sound of Brian Alphonse Gianelli." 

"Seriously? Thank you Marnie. Thank you." 

She nodded, asking him how long he would be in DC. 

"The Midwest junket starts on Monday but I talked to Connie and I am going to stay a couple of extra days...maybe the whole week." 

"We will be fine. If you have to go, you have to go." 

"I'm staying; you will be rid of me soon enough. I promise." 

"I don't want to be rid of you. Brian and I both like you a lot." 

"You sure? I could get a hotel." 

"Don't be silly. I want you to stay as long as you want and I mean that." 

She wanted him to stay forever but she would never say it aloud. Bruno told her he loved her once, never mentioning it again after the late night confession. Margaret wanted to know more but she refused to push him. And she would never use their son as bait in some game. The nurse came in, wheeling the baby and breaking her train of thought. 

"He has had dinner and we thought you would want to spend some time with him before he goes down for the night." 

"Of course we would." 

Bruno picked his son up and held him. He just looked at him for a few minutes. 

"Why are you looking at him like that?" Margaret asked. "What's wrong with him?" 

"You're kidding me...nothing is wrong with him. He has my eyes Marnie, and your nose. And your eyebrows." 

"He has eyebrows? I didn't notice the first time around." 

Bruno handed him to her and then sat on the edge of the bed with them. 

"Bruno?" 

"Hmm?" 

"I know you wanted a little girl and I'm sorry." 

"What?" 

"I'm sorry." 

"I have a son...what man would not be proud of that? I can teach him baseball and women, and how to make Aunt Irina's Italian loaf. The two of us will be fine. I should be thanking you." 

"You have been so sweet today and I hardly know what to say." Margaret said. 

"You know what you mean to me Marnie. What the both of you mean." 

"I don't know." She blurted it out; felt it was her last chance. 

"Everything." He said, kissing her and their son. "I want us to be best friends." 

"Friends?" 

"Yeah. We have our son to think of. I want him to know that mommy and daddy like each other, love each other. That's why I want to stay this week. Its campaign time...I don't know when I will be back." 

"Friends." 

She whispered it again as she made circles on Brian's back. It was probably better that way. As friends, no one would get hurt. Especially Brian. Bruno smiled, bending to kiss her forehead. 

"I love you." He said. He kissed Brian. "I love you too." 

He had a family now, someone who depended on him. He was not sure what the next move was and unfortunately the father instinct Bruno hoped would kick in had not yet arrived. The love was there though. Just looking at his son's face he wanted to do everything to make him happy. To make them both happy. This was a new phase, a crazy time, and there were difficult feelings to work through. This would be the summer Bruno Gianelli never forgot. 

***


End file.
